The Melody That Sounded Like Hunting
by 2cold2playoutside
Summary: Dutchy takes his juniors on exped, when someone from his past turns up. What does she has to do with ET and Dutchy? *based on 5x11 - the Hunted* 2Dads/RO/Bird/Dutchy/ET * ! I updated some chapters so the story works out better now.
1. Chapter 1 - The Introduction

CHAPTER 1 – THE INTRODUCTION

Hi, my name is Melody Holiday.  
This is a diary, about my life. This is my first adventure on my own, I'm very excited about it. I'm travelling through Australia with my canoe. I got it from my twin brother Josh. Because of him I travel, he always said: Life's too short. Well, it was, for him. He passed away a couple of months ago in a dive-accident. But enough. You'll meet me better while reading the diary.

So, back to what I'm doing. I'm a half year away from home, sailing. This is month 3 of my adventure. This night I slept in a beautiful hotel, and I sailed out again this morning. The owner of the hotel told me about a nice long river, which would end in the sea. That would be fun. Now there is a long river, with rocks and waterfalls, a beautiful place. But nature is rough, and I'm having trouble to keep my canoe straight.

I go around the rocks. But then, suddenly, the water is speeding up. Oh no, I almost hit a rock. I can go around it. But then I do bump on something. Shit. I see a huge crack in my canoe. I can't move on, what now? Darn, it's sinking! Quickly, I take my stuff out of the canoe and drag it with me to land. I see a kind of a beach. Let's go to there.  
I put my stuff down. Pfieuw, that was close. Oh, I'm tired. What time is it, anyway? Darn, my watch, it's broken. Let's see. At this island are probably more people.  
'Aah!' someone shouted. Who was that? Let's check it out. I go into the jungle.

After some walking, I hear people laughing. I see bottles hanging in a tree. That's weird. I don't trust this. I hide behind some bushes. I see a big, muscled man, sitting on the ground. He's handcuffed… And what is that in his leg? Is that an arrow? No, that can't be true. In my try to look better, I see someone else. He's walking around, with a gun. My instinct tells me, that I really need to get out of here. I slowly move away and start running. Maybe there are more people on the island.

I come at another beach. I see 2 people they're fishing. I run to them. "HEY!"  
They turn around. "2Dads, RO?!" What are they doing here?  
"Melody? What are you doing here?" asks 2Dads me. "I'm canoeing. Well, I was, because now I crashed. So I ended up here. What are you doing here?" RO answers. "We're on exped. (expedition) Yeah, Dutchy thought we didn't do a very good job at combat-training." "Haha, well, I can imagine that." Dutchy is an old friend of mine. I don't see him a lot anymore. When you're both in navy and sail out a lot, it's hard to see each other. "So, he gave us an order to fish. He's catching a rabbit with Bird." Suddenly, I shock. Could it be Dutchy, who was handcuffed? Oh no.  
"Guys, I went through the jungle to get here. I saw someone handcuffed. And that's not even the worse part, I think he had an arrow in his leg. It was a big, muscled man. Wearing no shirt."  
2Dads and RO think the same as me. "Oh no…Dutchy said there were no other people at the island," says 2Dads. RO asks me something. "Melody, do you think you remember the way?" "Uhm, well, I guess so. There were bottles hanging in a tree, and with this wind we should hear them."

XXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXX

After some walking, I stop. "You hear that? Look, right over there", I whisper. I point in the direction of the bottles in the tree. "Which sicko would put bottles in a tree? That's just useless. Let me check it out." 2Dads doesn't even wait for an answer, he just goes. "Come", says RO. "Let's sit here." We go sit down, and we'll wait for 2Dads.

2Dads comes back. He doesn't look that happy. "Not good news, I'm afraid. I don't see Bird anywhere, maybe she's still out here. But they do have Dutchy. Yes, they. There are two guys. Dutchy's handcuffed and has a rope around his neck. And Melody, you were right. He's got an arrow in his leg. I see a lot of blood, I'm sure that doesn't say much good. But, about Bird, I'll search for her, she has to be somewhere here." RO starts talking to me. "Hey Melody, you work as a second medical, right?" "Yeah, that's right." "Why don't you take a look? Now you know we're here too, you don't have to be afraid anymore."  
Ah, that's so sweet of RO. "Thanks RO! I'll take a look and 2Dads, you said you'll try to find Bird?" "Yeah, I was already going", says 2Dads and leaves.

I go to the camp. I stay low and try not to stand on any twigs. I go sit behind a large bush. I see Dylan, he doesn't wear a shirt and his jeans are covered with blood. The arrow is still in his leg, so if he doesn't move it, which he won't, it will be allright. But he does need medical treatment. Fast. I look at his face. I don't like it to see a friend in so much pain. I need to help him, I owe him that.

I slowly move back to RO. "And?" "Well, he's in a lot of pain. He does need medical treatment, of course, and fast. But as long as he doesn't move, he won't have any keeping damage. And he can't pull it out. So, no infections."  
"Ok." It seems like RO is thinking about something. "We need to get them free", he says. "Yeah, I figured something like that out. Have you got a plan?"  
He doesn't respond, he's still thinking. "RO?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe, we can distract them. I don't know how yet, but when the 2 guys go away from Dutchy, we'll free him." "Sounds good, except for the distraction-part." Suddenly I hear some noise. Like someone's moving to us. "Hey RO, do you hear that?" He listens. "Maybe an animal?" he says. Then 2Dads appears. "Hey guys. I can't find Bird, but I went to the camp we set up. All the stuff are still there, but Dutchy his knife is gone."  
RO and I don't know anything to say. "Where can she be?" I ask out loud. I haven't even finished my sentence or we hear someone screaming.  
"Aah! No, stop! Let go of me!" We all stand up. "Damn it, guys, that's Bird."  
I look at 2Dads. "No.." I whisper. "Okay RO, we need to work your plan out. When, how, who?" 2Dads looks surprised. "You guys have a plan?"  
"Kind of, we still need to work it out. Let's first find a saver place to hide."

XXXXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXX

We come at the beach. "So, let's sit down. So, you guys have a plan. To get them free, right?" "RO figured out to distract the 2 guys. And then free Dutchy…" "… and Bird." RO completes my sentence. "Hey, I can be the distraction. Just run? I can do that. Oh, maybe I can shout a little bit like help me. But we're not helping if they don't want me. And I don't want the guys to catch me," 2Dads says.  
"No, neither will I. But if the plan works, let's say the 2 guys are both going after you. How do we free Bird & Dutchy?" RO has an idea. "Well, we can obviously cut the rope, but the handcuffs, I guess we need to break the chain." I think. "With what? I've got a fishing-knife, but I don't know if it's strong enough." 2Dads knows. "A fishing knife will hold it. RO, we've got one too. Look, I kept it with me all the time." 2Dads gives RO the knife. "Melody, you take Dutchy. You need to be careful…" "…with his leg. I know, RO, I'm a second medical." I smile. "Oh and Melody… Try the hand cops first. Otherwise the 2 guys will know that there are more people on this island." "Copy that. 2Dads?" "Yeah what's up?" "Be careful." He smiles. "Always."

RO and I go back to the 'camp'. We go sit behind the bushes. 2Dads promised to wait about 4 minutes. Then he starts screaming. "Help! Is anyone here? Hello? There has got to be some people here! Help me please!" The 2 guys start talking. And laughing. What a sicko's. Guy #1 takes his rifle, guy #2 takes his arrow. They go away. I quickly run to Dutchy. "Dutchy, Dylan! Look at me. Stay with me, okay? I'm going to take care of you." He looks at me, he seems very confused. "Mel... What are you doing here?" "Well, I could ask you the same question. Hold on, I'm trying to get you free." I try to break the chain, but without any luck. "Damn it!" I shout. I look around and see that RO is doing the same as me. No luck. "RO, what now?" Then Bird has an idea. "Maybe the keys are somewhere here!"  
I start looking. Suddenly, out of the blue, we hear a gunshot. "BOOM!" And after that a loud scream. From 2Dads.

Ohno...

A/N: Sorry for all the mistakes. English is not my first language. :)  
So, what do you think of it? Let me hear, this is my first FanFic.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: For the record, I do not own Sea Patrol or any of its characters. I do own Melody, although she is based on Josh.**

**This chapter has some intimidating language and some violence. If you couldn't handle the real episode The Hunted, then I wouldn't recommend this chapter. Consider yourself warned ;)**

**Please review! Let me hear what you guys think about it, I'm very curious :)**

* * *

CHAPTER 2 – YOU BLEED JUST TO KNOW YOU'RE ALIVE

"Quick, Melody, RO, go!" Dylan screams. "What about you?" I yell. "Try something else. I'll hold on, Swain comes tomorrow. NOW GO!" RO comes to me. "Come Melody, hurry!" We run away, and quickly hide behind the bushes. We see the 2 guys coming. They have 2Dads. He looks so desperate. "Get down", says guy#2. 2Dads sits down, against the tree. The guys tie him up as well. This is bad. I start looking for a wound, we heard a gunshot. Then I see it, in his right shoulder. There's a lot of blood coming out. RO noticed as well. "There's a lot of blood, Melody."  
RO looks at me. "We'd better save camp somewhere. It's getting quick dark in the jungle. Let's use the original camp. We can restart the fire and eat the rabbit Dutchy was working on." We stand up. RO knows the way, which surprises me.

We reach the camp. The fire is still on. "So", says RO. "Did Dutchy said anything to you?" "No, but he recognized me. And he said something about Swain, that he would come tomorrow." RO looks at me. "You know him for a very long time, do you?" "Yes, I do." I smile. "So, how do you know each other?" "From school. We went together to high-school in Sydney, and later Navy school. We even served on the same boat some months." RO nods. So, that's cleared up. "Well, did Bird tell anything to you?" "Uhm yes, she did. She said that… the guys hunted after Dutchy."  
"Hunted? Really? Wow, that's really sick." RO agrees. "Yes. That's when he got that arrow in his leg. Bird saw how they dragged him to their camp. The guys saw her, and then it was too late."  
"Wow, she must be really scared." Bird is still so young, and she has to go through all of this… That's very hard.

Suddenly an idea appears in my head. "Hey RO, what if they will hunt one of them again? I'm afraid that if we wait for Swain… That it might be too late." "You're saying that we need to come up with another plan."  
RO can read my mind. "Yes, indeed. So, let's assume that 1 guy will chase them and that 1 guy will stay at the camp. Maybe a trap?" "Bird isn't injured, right? Let's say she will be chased. If I, or we, will go after them, we take something and knock the guy out. We take the keys to the handcuffs, we handcuff the guy and leave him. Then we distract the other guy, while in the meantime someone of us frees the others. Sounds good?"  
RO seems surprised by my idea. "Yeah, sounds good. I'll distract them. We take out the first guy together. All right?" "All right. Let's do it." Wow, we're going to save them. If we get the chance. I really hope so. "Um, RO? Do you have a watch?" "Yes. It's 16:00. By the way, can you cook?"  
"Better than you, I guess." "How do you know I can't cook?" "Otherwise you wouldn't ask me. I'll make stew." I smile. "Thanks, I'll search for some wood." RO leaves, and I cut the rabbit. So unfear, RO and I can eat and Dutchy, 2Dads and Bird sit there all tied up. And we can't do a thing.

XXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXXX

RO is already back for about 2 hours. RO can't sit still. "Hey, I'll check out how they're doing. I can't sit and wait here." I nod. "I understand."

"Melody! Melody come quick!" RO comes out of the bushes. I didn't hear him coming. "What's wrong? Why ..?"  
I can't even finish my sentence. He pulls me up. "Dutchy…" he says. "Come, follow me and be quiet."  
Dutchy? What… "RO, are the guys doing things with him?" He nods. "Now be quiet", he whispers.

We reach the sicko's camp. There I see it. It's Dylan, he's standing, his arms are separately tied up to 2 trees. The arrow is still in his leg. He tries not to put his weight on his leg, that only hurts more. This is real torture.  
"Oh no, RO, we need to do something!" "Well, we can't Melody. We need to wait. We do our plan and not else."  
I look at RO. "We're the only ones they've got." I nod. I focus on what is happening.

Dutchy is having a real hard time. Guy#1 is talking to him. "So piggy, camping alone, ey? Look at them. You know them, they know you." The guy starts laughing. Dutchy looks so… desperate. But he won't give up, he's too strong and too stubborn.  
I start looking for 2Dads. There I see him. He's handcuffed, and that's not good for his bullet wound. He's asleep. Or unconscious. I hope the first. Well, at last the wound stopped bleeding.  
I look at Bird. She's awake, and shaking. She looks so scared.  
Guy #1 starts talking again. "But piggy, about you… We told you before, we're gonna have some fun with you."  
Have some fun? Where the hell is he talking about? I look at RO. He shakes his head. He doesn't know either.  
"Hey Elvis, I want to hunt right now. We never hunt at night. Seems fun." Guy#1 starts laughing. Guy#2, apparently called Elvis, nods. "Good, you can hunt, I'll have some fun right here."  
I look at RO, again. He was already looking at me. "Melody, we need to do our plan right now. You stay here, I put the fire out, all right?" I nod. RO leaves. I look at Dylan. Guy#1 takes his bow and some arrows. He prepares for 'the hunt'. Elvis is searching for something. I can't imagine what Dylan is thinking right now. Or Bird… They must have gone through hell.  
RO appears behind me. "Ready", he says. "Copy. Have you got the piece of wood?" He nods. "Are you ready?" He asks me. "As ready as I'll ever be."  
Guy #1 pulls Bird up, he unties her. "So, beauty, let's go running. Run… Run…" Bird doesn't know what to do. Guy #2 notices, he puts his rival against Dylan's head. "Run, or I'll put a bullet in his head. 3.. 2… 1!"  
Bird runs. RO and I quickly go after her. It all happens very quick.  
Bird falls, she doesn't stand up. Guy #1 points his arrow, and says "You're mine". I go stand behind him, he hasn't noticed me. "No, she's not." The wood bumps against his head. RO hit him. He's out. "Got ya." I walk to Bird. "Bird, can you hear me? Bird?" Oh, luckily, she comes around. "Hey", she says. "Hey, welcome back." I help her sit. "RO took care of the guy, you're safe now." "We.. we gotta save 2Dads and Dutchy." "Yes Bird, and we're gonna do that. I need you to tell me if you feel pain anywhere." She thinks. "No, only some bruises and scratches, I guess. They haven't hurt me." "All right. Can you walk? Follow me and be quiet, okay? We're gonna do this together." I help her stand up. RO leaves, he'll be the distraction and Bird & I will take care of 2Dads and Dutchy. Suddenly, out of the blue, we hear a gunshot. "BOOM!" Follow by a loud scream.  
"Ohno, no, it is Dutchy, I can feel it! NO!" Bird drops to the ground and starts crying. "Mel.. It's too late."  
"Don't give up Bird. Now get up. Come on." I help her up. "It's not over. Not yet. It's Dutchy, he's too damn stubborn to give up. Bird, look at me." She looks at me. "If he won't give up, we won't give up." "All right", she says. "Let's do it."

XXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXX

We're closing the camp. I don't see the guy anywhere. "Bird, stay low, okay? We need to be sure the guy is away." "Copy." We go sit behind some bushes, at the other side of the camp. Dylan and 2Dads don't see us, but we see them. Dylan is barely awake. He still stands, but he holds on to the ropes. He can't stand on his own feet. I see multiple scratches and a big wound on his head. And that's only his back. Then 2Dads. I see him from his right side. The bullet wound on his right shoulder didn't begin bleeding again. I don't see the guy or RO anywhere. "Okay, Bird, I think it's save."  
I stand up and walk to 2Dads. "Bird, keep pressure on the wound, here…" I un-cuff 2Dads. "2Dads, you okay?" He nods, not able to talk. "Bird, you help him up."  
I quickly run to Dylan. "Dylan!" He doesn't respond. Oh no. I go stand in such a way, that if he falls, he falls on me. Hey, they took the arrow out. That's bad. I take my knife, and cut the rope. Now he only hangs on one rope. I quickly cut the other rope. He falls on me, as I suspected. I put him easy down. "Dylan, wake up. Come on. Dutchy… DYLAN!" I slap him softly on his cheek. Come on, Dylan. "Come on, wake up." He opens his eyes. "Hey, welcome back." "Curly?" He asks me, very confused. "Yes Dylan, it's me." Looks like he has pain. A lot. "Okay, let me see, shhh. Don't move to much." I see a long scratch above his left eyebrow, a big and long wound probably made by a knife at his chest, and… Oh my god. At the right side of his belly a bullet wound. It's still bleeding. And the big wound at his leg, from the arrow. This is pretty bad. Not to mention the bruises and scratches, almost everywhere on his muscled body.  
Dylan looks at me. "Pretty bad, eh?" "Yes. We need to get away from here, Dylan. We're going to your basic camp." He nods. "So I need to stand." "Yes. I'll help you. Come on." I help him up, it only causes more pain but it has to. When he finally stands, he turns to me. "So, what are you doing here? For me you're at the right time at the right place." "Just bad luck, Dylan. Or good luck, in this case." "But what are you doing here?" "Well, you know, after Josh died…" "You went sailing. On your own." He shakes his head. He never liked the idea of me, in the world, sailing, alone. "Yes. But I crashed." He looks worried. "Nothing bad, only my canoe didn't survive it. Now, let's move."

A/N: _I couldn't find a better ending, the other chapters have kind of cliff hangers and this one hasn't. So, please review, good or bad things, doesn't matter. If you tell me I can improve it ;)_

_Do you want more from Dutchy or 2Dads or Bird or ET? Let me hear._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thankyou for the first review! I'm very pleased with that =)  
As requested, I put some more Bird in it. I hope you like it _

CHAPTER 3: DESTINY LEAVES ITS MARK

Bird is still trying to get 2Dads up. "Bird, how're you two doing?" I look around. There she stands, brave and proud, with 2Dads at her side. "We're okay. 2Dads can walk, we'll go towards the camp. I don't know how fast you guys can go…" "We'll come after you. Come on Dylan, let's go."  
We stumble to the camp, 2Dads and Bird in front of us. Dylan is having a hard time, and so is 2Dads. And Bird. But none of us shows it. That's what navy taught us, you have to keep fighting for each other. Thinking about it, Bird is perfectly cut out for the navy. I'm gonna tell her that. When we're off this island.

XXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXXX

We reach the camp. "Ah, Curly, please, put me down, put me down!" Dylan says. I put him down. "I'm sorry Dylan, I can't give you anything for the pain. We need to wait for Swain." Bird looks around. "He would come at 07:00. What time is it now?" I look at my watch. "Damn, it's broken. And the guy promised me it was indestructible."  
Bird smiles. "RO has a watch. He'll be back soon." She puts 2Dads down. "Hey Bird, we need to take care of them. Can you get some water? And I need some towels or something." "Uhm, yeah, sure. I'll go to the creek to get some water, but I don't know anything for towels." "I'll figure something out."  
Bird leaves, and I go to 2Dads. "You told me you would be careful." "Sorry", he says. "It's okay. Is this the only place they've hurt you?" I point at his shoulder. He nods. "All right, let's see." I remove his shirt where the bullet wound is. Ai, that looks bad. I look at the other side. No exit wound. That means the bullet is still inside. "Okay, don't move." I take my sweater off. "What are you doing? It's getting night!" "It's okay, 2Dads. I'm gonna use it for the wounds." "Oh." "Come here." I rip my sweater in long pieces and use it as a bandage. "Now, move your fingers for me. Does it hurt?" "Only a little." I nod. "I'm going to check Dylan. Rest, okay?"  
I walk to Dylan. He's laying on the ground, eyes closed. "Dylan?" He doesn't respond.  
I check his pulse. It's low, but it's there. Phieuw. He's still breathing, at last. When he's out he won't feel the pain, so I don't wake him up. 2Dads stands behind me. "Is he going to make it?" "Yes he is." I hope. I have some pieces of my sweater left and use it to tie Dylan's leg off. "I need some more bandage. And you need to sit down and rest", I tell 2Dads. "Yes, ma'am", he answers politely. I smile. "That's the spirit."  
Bird is back. "Hey, I got the water. Can I do anything else?" "Yeah, you can. I need towels or a shirt or a sweater to rip apart." "Here, use mine." "Thanks, Bird." I take her shirt and immediately rip it in long pieces. I look at Dylan. First that bullet wound. When I take care of it, I see his face changing. "Dylan?"  
He opens his eyes. I quickly tie the bandage to a knot. "Dylan, hey."  
He looks up. "Hey, Curly." He smiles. Then he looks down. He sees the wounds, on his own body. He had no idea it was this bad. "What time is it?" "I don't know Dylan, but it's still in the late-afternoon. We stay at the island this night." He nods. "So… How's 2Dads doing? And Bird? And RO?" "They're here. Bird! Come, he's awake."  
She comes to me. "You see? Except for RO, but he will be here in any minute." I haven't even finished my sentence, or we hear someone shouting. "I'm sick of you two! Just keep walking, sicko's."  
There comes RO, with the two sicko's in front of him. "Sit down. I said sit down!" The guys go sit down. "Bird, can you help me?" "Sure." Bird ties them to the tree. "They won't move", she says. "Good."  
They walk back to us. RO immediately takes care of the fire we kind of started.  
"Hey people, let's sit around the fire. It's getting night so we better stay warm." "Good idea", says 2Dads. Bird helps him.  
"RO, can you help me?" I ask him. "Sure." Together we help Dylan up and bring him to the fire. "Easy… Good job." "Thanks guys", says Dylan. I go sit down next to him. "Dylan, let me see that cut-wound again?" He turns around. "Long, not deep." I have some long pieces of my sweater left. Well, let's check him out some further before using it. I start pushing at his ribs. "Ah, that hurts." "Sorry Dylan. You've broken some ribs. And you've got a nasty wound at your head… I need to clean the wound and let is stop bleeding. Here, let's use this." It's the piece of sweater, well what's left of it. I take the water Bird got and use it to clean the wound. We're so lucky there's sweet water at this island. "Here, keep pressure on it, all right?" "Copy that."

XXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXX

"Good job, Melody." "Thanks 2Dads. It's all what's left of the stew Bird & Dylan were trying to make."  
We're all sitting around the fire, keeping warm and safe. It's getting pretty dark. "So guys, how did you ended up here? We need to get through the night so we better keep talking." I ask them.  
2Dads starts with talking. "Well, we were doing combat-training with Dutchy. And we didn't do a very good job. So Dutchy here thought we could go on an exped. Nice, huh." "Well, you guys needed it. But I never expected it to be as rough as this." Dylan looks sad. "I'm not saying it's your fault, Dutchy. Actually, until I got tied up I pretty liked this whole thing." The boys smile. Everything is okay again. "So, how did everything of this happen? I mean, you were together all the time?" Bird answers. "No, we weren't. 2Dads and RO were fishing, and Dutchy and I were going to make stew. I got water from the creek and when I came back… I saw those guys taking Dutchy. I went after them." She stops, takes a breath. "Then I lost track. I didn't know what to do, when I heard someone shouting." Dylan interrupts. "That was me." "I walked to the direction where the sound came from. And then I saw Dutchy. Yek." Bird is horrified. Dylan continues.  
"When we came at the camp, one of the guys untied me. I tried to get away, I fought, but they had a gun. And then they let me free." "What?" I ask Dylan. "I needed to run, so they could hunt after me -sicko's. So, I ran, I fell, I got up again and kept running. And then pain." Dylan looks at his leg. "I fell down. The guys found me, just left me laying there. And then Bird came. And from then on there's a black spot." "But I still know, hard to forget", says Bird. She continues. "The guy noticed me. 'Hey!' he shouted. I ran. Faster, faster, faster. Then I saw a huge, blue, flashing light. I panicked, I stopped. Next to me was a tree, and a second later there was an arrow in that same tree. I surrendered." Wow, she must be horrified. What a brave girl. She takes a breath, and continues. "They took me to the camp, and they tied me up to a tree. Since then they left me… Dutchy?" Next to me I hear a strange sound. "Dylan?!"  
He's laying at the ground, obviously in a lot of pain. I kneel next to him. "Where does it hurt? Dylan, don't close your eyes. Open those eyes. Good. Now, I need you to stay with me, okay? Hang on." "Oh god." "Bird, it's gonna be okay." Dylan wants to close his eyes. "Dylan, Dylan, I know you're tired, but you need to keep your eyes open. Dylan! Can you hear me?" No response. His eyes stay closed. "Dylan?" I check his pulse. "Damn, we lost him! Can any of you do CPR?" RO steps forward. "I can." "Well, quickly, come and help me!" He kneels next to me and Dylan. "All right, I'll give him 2 breaths, you give 30 compressions." I take a deep breath and slowly breath out in Dylan's mouth. And once again. "Okay RO, go! 1.. 2.. 3.. 4..!"

_A/n: So, will he survive? To be continued!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/n: So, I know I'm a little late, but happy new year everyone! I hope you like this chapter. ;-)_

CHAPTER 4 : WHEN WE'RE ALL TOGETHER THERE'S NOTHING TO FEAR

"25.. 26.. 27.. 28.. 29.. 30!" I check his pulse. Do I feel…? "Yes, yes! I've got a pulse, I've got a pulse."  
Dylan starts coughing. He opens his eyes. "Hey, welcome back." He wants to talk. "Shh, save your breath. Just relax." He keeps laying down, he does what he has been told. What a relief, we got him back. "So, we need to be ready for the night. Search for anything to keep yourself comfortable. Maybe bags, or other clothes." 2Dads has an idea. "We can search at their camp." He means the sicko's. I stand up, "I can do that. But someone needs to keep an eye here." Bird speaks up. "We will. I think you know best what to use." "Why do you think that?" "Well, you look like you survival often", she says. I smile. "I do? Well, thank you. I better go than." I walk towards the camp of the sicko's. What a horrible place. I take what I need and I walk back. Then I see something. Oh my god. I see two skeletons. I quickly keep walking towards the rest of us. I'm real angry right now. These guys hurted Dylan. My only friend left from when I was young. I owe him so much, and they hurt him. I can't let that happen. I see them sitting. "Now, look what you've guys done! Is that what you guys want? Why are you doing this?" I interrupt them.  
They look at me, with their, ugly, stupid faces. "Well, it's not like I regret it." "What? You don't regret it? For god's sake, you almost killed a man!" He answers, his voice is horrifying cold. "Not almost. It was my plan. Piggy was going to be my third victory." His victory. This guy is sick. "Your victory. Please don't make me laugh. How sick are you guys?" They look surprised. "Sick? We're not sick. We're impressed by all the violence in the world. And we can't handle that. At all. Ghehehe." I walk away. These guys are not worth my time. 2Dads looks at me. "Hey, are you okay?" I suddenly realize I screamed. They must be scared of me by now. "Yeah, I'm so sorry if I scared you guys." I go sit next to Dylan, and hold his head on my lap. He closes his eyes, and falls into a deep sleep. I put a blanket around him. I've put the other things I found near the campfire. I look around.  
RO starts talking. "Are you sure? Why were you that angry? I mean, they haven't done anything to you." "Oh, I'm fine. The reason I was that angry was because, I… I couldn't let anyone else so close to me slip away." RO understands, but 2Dads and Bird look a bit confused. I explain. "Dylan… Dutchy and I went to high-school together, together with my twin-brother Josh. Josh Holiday, if you know him you know him as ET." 2Dads looks surprised. "The guy I followed up?" RO answers. "Yes, indeed." "Wow." I continue. "Dylan decided to join navy. ET followed him. And so did I. You all know, Josh died in a dive-accident." They're all quiet. I hope they understand. I look at Dylan. No, after everything he has done for me… I owe him so much. "Melody?" I look up. It's Bird.  
"Yeah?" "It's okay if I ask you a question?" "Sure." "Well, how did YOU get here? You know how we got here, but…" I understand her question. I think I would ask the same. "Well, Josh used to say life's too short. He always told me I was too busy with stuff, and not enjoying life that much as he did. So after he died, I decided to travel through Australia with the canoe he gave me. Dutchy never thought it was a good idea. He had his doubts." Bird speaks up. "I think it's because he cares about you." Ah, sweetheart. "Yeah, I think the same, Bird. But, I was canoeing, and I crashed. And I ended up here. That's the story."  
A little break.  
"But Bird, just before Dutchy went out, you told us about what happened. Do you remember some more stuff?"  
Bird's surprised by that question. "Uhm yeah." It seems like she doesn't know how to say it. "It's okay Bird." She looks at me. "Oh, it was awful. They had a knife, and they kept pushing at that arrow in his leg and…" Bird's voice drives away. 2Dads supports her. "Hey Bird, it's okay. We're all gonna be fine. Swain will come and then everything's over."  
"Oh, okay. Still…" "Bird, look at me." She looks at me. "Bird, we're all together. And when we're all together there's nothing to fear." She nods. I'm getting through. "We're safe now", she wispers. "Yes Bird. So now you can tell us what happened."  
She takes a deep breath. "I'm gonna tell you what happened."

"They tied me up. And they left me. Didn't do a thing with me. They were discussing about hunting me. I was scared. And 2Dads and RO, they didn't even know of these sicko's. But I cared more about Dutchy. He was just sitting there, with an arrow in his leg! That rope tied around his neck… " Bird shakes her head, she still can't believe it. I'm listening with an open mouth. This has all really happened. I look down at Dutchy. He's still sleeping. Bird continues. "From then on they didn't do much. Then they saw 2Dads, and… Well, you all know what happened. So, than 2Dads was tied up too. You were unconscious about all the time." 2Dads nods. "That's right, I can't remember a thing of it. Well, talking about it, I do remember that the guys, uhm, how do I say it?" He looks at Bird. "They got Dylan up, removed his handcuffs and that rope around his neck, and then he needed to move. That's when they hung him up. It must have been very painful."  
I look down at Dylan. He's awake. "Hey Dylan. Welcome back." Everyone becomes quiet. "Hey", he says. "Do you want to sit?" I ask him. He nods. I slowly help him sit. "Take it easy", I warn him. "I'm okay, Curly." "Of course you are." He looks around him. I cannot really describe what he sees, but I'll give it a try. Three people, all with a heartwarming look, a campfire, and behind them the two sicko's who caused real much trouble. He turns around. Behind him he sees his old friend, me, who's still there for him. As I have always been. In his leg is no longer an arrow, it has been wrapped up with sweaters of people who care about him. He looks at me. "Thank you", he whispers. "Hey, I'm a Navy-medic, Bird's a navy-medic in training. What did you expect?" He wants to laugh, but it hurts. "Aw, Curly, please don't make me laugh. It hurts." "I'm sorry." I look at Bird, she looks back. "Shall we continue?" She nods. And explains. "Dutchy? We were talking about what happened in the last 8 hours." He nods. "We were talking about the part that they hung you up at your wrists." Dylan is quiet. "Yeah. I didn't forget that."  
He continues. "It went by very fast, the pain was killing me. I do remember that they pointed a gun at me for some reason." Bird nods. "That was when I needed to run…" "And I was still awake", says 2Dads. He continues. "Dutchy, first they pulled that arrow out. The guy noticed I was still awake, he walked to me and hit me with something very hard, probably to get me unconscious. It didn't work, but I have a huge headache now."  
We all smile. "But serious, from then on I don't know much. I was barely awake, I don't know anything until I saw Bird." But Dutchy knows. I can read it of his face. And than he says it. The word I didn't want to hear. Not from him. Not in this condition.

_I look at him, and I see his injuries: the scratch above his left eyebrow, a big and long wound probably made by a knife at his chest, and at the right side of his belly a bullet wound. And the big wound at his leg, from the arrow. I wrapped some things up, but blood is coming through. And than we still have bruises and scratches, almost everywhere on his brown and muscled body._

But he says it. Loud and clear. __

_A/N: so, I hope you guys all like it! Sorry that I use the same words all the time, as I said before English is not my first language. And don't forget to review! ;-)_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/n: Thank you so much for the nice review! I'm very happy with that :)_

CHAPTER 5 – I NEVER MEANT TO CAUSE YOU ANY TROUBLE

"They hurt me. They hurt us. They hurt you. And you. And you. And you."  
Every time he says 'you' he looks at one of us. But he blames someone… Himself.  
"Dylan, whose fault is this? Not yours." "I blame them." He looks at the sicko's. "But I blame myself too." "Don't do that!" I shout. My face is very close to his face. "It's not your fault. Do you hear me? It's not your fault." He looks hurt. "Then why did it all happen to us? Because I took ya'all here for that stupid expedition." "But Dylan, you didn't take me. I went here on my own." "Because I couldn't stop you from that stupid idea! And now look how you ended up." "Dylan, I'm too stubborn to give up an idea like that. You know that. No-one could have stopped me. I did it for Josh." I stop talking. He looks at me. I think he now realizes it wasn't his fault. Bird gives her opinion. "Dutchy, it wasn't your fault. If we did a better job, we didn't need an expedition." 2Dads and RO agree. "We totally sucked. It was your right to take us out here. Who could have prevented this sort of danger? No-one could", says 2Dads. "You guys are right. I couldn't prevent this. Thanks." He says it slowly, he's still not quite over this. Then he looks at me. "I would hug you if it didn't hurt." I smile. "Friends in good and bad times, ey?" He nods.

_With the whole blaming-stuff done, the mood has become so much more relaxed. Only one question kept remaining. What happened to Dutchy? How did he get all those injuries?_

RO went out to grab some more wood to keep the fire on. I stayed with Dylan, 2Dads and Bird. And the two sicko's. They haven't said a word since I screamed to them. We're all sitting, half a sleep. 2Dads holds Bird, carefully, not hurting his shoulder. And I hold Dylan. He's barely awake. I'm thinking of all the things that happened today. We have no food left. Only some beers and some bottles of water. Oh, and a bottle of rum. We're waiting till the sun comes up, Swain comes and then… we can finally get off this island. We're all looking forward to that moment. But for now, we need to hang on, and do the best we can.

XXXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXX

I must have fallen asleep, because I suddenly wake up of something. It's Dylan. "I need to tell you what happened. I need to share it with someone." "I know, Dylan. And I'm here for you. You can tell me."  
He takes a deep breath. There it comes. "Where do I need to begin?" He looks at me. "The part where they hung you up at your wrists." "Oh, yeah. So, they hung me up at my wrists. I needed to put weight on my leg, and that really hurted. I think the guy noticed 'cause he pulled the arrow out. The pain was almost unbearable. But I was still awake. I couldn't let that guy do things to me without me knowing it." He takes a breath. He's all in his memory, forgetting where he really is. He's back in the moment. "He opened a box, and put the arrow in it. It was still covered in blood. I saw more arrows. They were all covered in blood." I nod, supporting him to continue. I don't think he notices, anyway. He keeps going. "He walked back to me. He looked into my eyes, and then, suddenly, out of nowhere, he… He just had a knife. And then…" Tears hide behind my eyes. One tear escapes. I wipe it away. "He used the knife. The pain… I can't recall it. I was just stunned by that action. Everything hurted. My leg, my chest, my wrists, my shoulders. And then he came up with that big piece of wood. He first slammed me at the head, and I faded into darkness." He stops, takes a deep breath, looks at me. "I woke up again. I thought of you. I thought it was a dream, that I dreamed about you. You couldn't be here." "But I was Dylan. Thank god I was. I owe you so much… Now I did something back." He nods. "And then I saw that guy again. I didn't feel anything anymore. Everything was pain. But he had a gun. He pointed a gun at me." He shakes his head. "And he shot. I screamed. You must've heard that. From then on I really can't remember a thing. But from then on you were with me all the time." He looks at me. "Thank you for being here."  
"Everything's gonna be allright, you know that, right?" "Yes I know." I look at the rest of us. Bird's still sleeping, leaning against 2Dads, who's also asleep. RO's leaning against a tree. The fire is a lot more hotter than when I went asleep. Sleeping… that sounds comforting. I yawn. "Oh, I'm tired." "Come here," says Dylan. He lies on the ground and takes my head in his arms. In that position, I fall asleep.

XXX-Sea Patrol-XXX

I hear some birds singing. The sun is shining. I can feel it at my skin. I open my eyes. I see trees. A lot of trees. I sit up. I look around me. I see remains of a fire. Oh yeah, I remember now. Everything that happened yesterday. I see someone moving behind me. It's Dylan. "Goodmorning", he says. "Hey. What time is it?" RO answers. "It's about 0600. In one hour Swain will be at the beach." Wow, I slept for a long time then. RO takes the sicko's to the beach. "I'll take them to the beach, I'll tie them up again and when I come back you'll be ready?" "Copy that", I say. RO leaves. He's full of energy. Dylan doesn't look that much better, though. "How are you holding up?" "I've been better. I'll be all right." "Let me take a look." Non of his injuries started bleeding again, so that's a good sign. "I'm not gonna rip the bandage of, I don't want any chance of infections." Dylan nods. "My ribs are still cracked, ey?" "You know that won't heal that fast." I see him smiling. "You! Well, I'll check your pulse and then I'll check on 2Dads and Bird." His pulse is steady, not too fast and not too slow. I stand up and walk towards 2Dads and Bird. They're both awake.  
"Hey guys, how are you holding up? Had enough sleep?" "Yeah, I slept like a rose. I didn't expect that", answers Bird. "Well, I can't recall anything of tonight so OR I was really drunk OR I slept real good. I think the last." 2Dads smiles. "You hope the last", says Bird. I laugh. "That's a good one. Now, let me take a look at that wound of yours." It stopped bleeding. His pulse is fast. "All right. Well, take it easy. Bird, you'll watch him?" "Sure Curly."  
Such a brave girl. "Thank you." Ah, there's RO. "I can see a mast, at the end of the horizon. Come, let's move to the beach." "2Dads, can you walk? With some help of Bird?" He nods. "All right, you go first. RO, can you help me with Dutchy?" RO's coming my way. "You support left, I'll do right." I need to be careful with his leg and shoulder. "All right. Dylan, you can hold me here, I'll try to support your leg. RO, be careful with that wound."  
It's an adventure, but we make it to the beach. Dylan is in a lot of pain, but at the beach we can rest. I see 2Dads and Bird, they're hiding in the shadows of the trees. A couple meters further I see the two sicko's all tied up. I ask Dylan something. "Can you walk again?" He nods. "Well, come on then, let's join them."

"All right, put him down carefully, careful! RO! Easy! Easy, easy…That's the way." Dylan's in a lot of pain. "Dylan, how's the pain?" He looks at me. "How…?" "Bad or really bad?" "Uh, bad. I can still handle it, but some pain killers would be great." "We need to wait for Swain." He nods. "Well, let's make the best of it until then."

I stand very close to the sea, it's high tide. The sun's already up and I see a big boat at the horizon. It's the Hammersley. I can recognize it out of 1000 boats. ET's funeral was there, I was there when he had that accident with Campell Fullton… I waited so many times till that boat came in dock. Bird notices too. "It's the Hammersley! Thank god, we're save."  
Suddenly, I hear a strange noise behind me. Followed by a scream from 2Dads and RO. "Quick, Melody, come over here! Something's wrong with Dutchy!" I turn around, there I see him, lying on the ground. He's having trouble breathing. I run to him. "Dylan, do you hear me? Open your eyes." I slap him on the cheek. I need to stay calm now. He's still breathing, and he still has a pulse. "Dylan, what's wrong? Dutchy!"  
He opens his eyes. "My… ribs… they… hurt…" He closes his eyes. "No, don't close your eyes. Open those eyes. Come on Dylan!" I listen how he breathes. And then I realize. His rib punctured his long.

Come on Swain, I need you.

_A/n: So, almost the end of their expedition! To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6: DON'T LET IT BREAK YOUR HEART

"Come on, come on," I mumble. "RO, 2Dads, Bird, do you've got anything like a needle with you?" In the mean time I keep Dylan awake. "Keep your eyes open, open! I know you want to close them, but don't, okay? Keep them open so I know you're okay." He understands, but he's still having a hard time breathing. "Melody, here, we used it for fishing." 2Dads hands a needle to RO, and RO passes is through to me. "Have you used it?" I ask him. "No. There's only some sand on it." "All right. Well, quick, give me the bottle with rum." They look at me with an open mouth. "Melody, this is not the time to…" I interrupt him. "RO, I won't drink it! I'm gonna use the alcohol in the rum to disinfect the needle. It's the only thing I can do at the moment, because when Swain arrives it might be too late." That he even thinks that. Well, I can't blame him, he's a radio operator and not a second medical like me. He hands over the bottle with rum, already opened, and I disinfect the needle. "Okay, now, I need something clean like a shirt." I look at them. All the shirts they wear are dirty. I start thinking, my shirt isn't that clean either, so I'm gonna use my bandana. I quickly stick the needle in his left lung, and quickly put my bandana around it. Dylan immediately takes a deep breath. Oh, thank god. It worked.

Bird sighs of relief. "Thank you", she whispers, to no-one in particularly. I sit down next to Dylan. I won't let that happen again. I went out of sight, and something like this happens. I will stay with him until I make sure he's save. Bird sits down at the other side of Dylan. "We won't let him scare us like that again." "No, we won't."  
We sit down like that until we see a RHIB coming. It's Swain. We're save.  
Of course, RO notices as first of us. "Look, a RHIB! Come, let's go to them." Bird takes 2Dads, and RO takes the two maniacs. They walk together to the sea, where Swain boards. I stay with Dylan, so I can assist Swain immediately and tell him what happened. I see him talking to RO, and then runs my way. "Swain!" I yell.  
"Melody! Never expected you here!" Then he stops talking. His face turns horror. He notices there's something wrong with Dutchy. And then he sees it. All of his injuries. "This… this happened in one night?" He quickly gets over it and kneels down next to me. "Tell me everything what happened." I tell him what caused every wound. His leg from the arrow, the head wound from the big piece of wood, the bullet wound at his side, his punctured lung, his broken and cracked ribs, the wound made by a knife and the bruises and scratches. When I tell it, I realize it's pretty much. "And, last night, maybe an hour or two after we were really 'save', we lost him. We did CPR to get him back. After that he slept a lot, was awake, until 30 minutes ago, when he punctured his long. Since then he's fading in and out of consciousness." I take a deep breath. "Tell me how to help you with him." Swain looks at me. "First, I have to say you did a good job. I mean, in this circumstances, this was the best you could do. But now, we can't do that much. I want to see those wounds, and then I'll decide to give him some painkillers or not. We'll clean him up and wrap his wounds up again at the ship. It's clean there." He looks around. "I haven't brought a stretcher with me, so I'll contact Hammersley for a second RHIB." He takes his radio, while I keep an eye on Dylan. "Swain to Hammersley, over. … I need a second RHIB with a stretcher. 2Dads and Dutchy are injured, and we have two men to put away. Over." Swain looks back at me. "And we have another passenger. … No, sir, I know her. Her name is Melody Holiday, she's with the Navy as well, sir. … Understand boss. Over and out." He walks back to me. "That's all set, then. I'll tell RO they can leave and we will wait for the other RHIB." I nod, and Swain walks away. Wow, I realize we're really save now. We don't have to be afraid anymore. We're not alone anymore. I look at Dylan. He's trying to open his eyes. "Shhh, Dylan, it's okay. Swain's here too." I see Dylan relax. Swain walks back, and the RHIB leaves. "Curly?" I almost didn't notice him talking, so quiet is his voice. "Yes, Dylan?" "I, uh… Afterwards, I think it was a great idea for you to, uh… sail out alone. You saved my life today. And, uh… Yesterday." "Shh, Dylan, save your breath. Take it easy. I know you do. And I'm glad I did. But it's over now. I'm not going to do this again. I'll rejoin navy." Dylan smiles. "I knew… you would." After that, he closes his eyes. I check his breathing, he only sleeps. That's good.

Swain joins me. "How are you holding up?" "He's sleeping, and I'm tired. But we will make it."  
He sits down, and takes a look me. "So, how did you ended up here?" "I went sailing after Josh died." I know Swain for a long time, and so did Josh. First that with his leg, and later he died. Swain always came to visit me and my parents when there was something wrong with Josh. "I needed some time and some space to process everything that has happened. Look where it brought me. At the right time, at the right place." "Yeah, you sure can say that!" Suddenly, I hear a noise. It's a RHIB. "Come, we'll catch up later. Let's first take care of Dutchy. You'll stay here, and I'll grab a stretcher." I nod. Swain runs to the RHIB, who just arrived at the beach. He comes back with a stretcher and with Charge. I've seen him a couple times. I see Swain explaining things to Charge, and Charge is nodding. "Dylan? Charge is here too. We're gonna put you on a stretcher and take you to the Hammersley." I don't know if he heard it, but I just tell him.

I think Swain wants to prepare Charge for what he's going to see. Dylan looks vulnerable, not that strong as he always looks. "Hey Curly", he says. "Hi Charge. Come on, let's take care of him." Swain takes charge. "Melody? You take the legs, watch out for that wound, we'll take the rest of him." Swain puts the stretcher down, and he goes down next to Dylan's bullet wound. "Charge, you'll take the head and his shoulders." He waits until Charge has Dylan's head. Than he says, "Okay, lift in, 1… 2… 3!" We pull Dylan up and lay him slowly on the stretcher. "He's having pain, Swain." "I know Melody, come, let's go quick." Swain and Charge carry the stretcher, I walk next to them. Swain and Charge slowly lay him in the RHIB. Charge takes the steering wheel. "Here", he says, "I brought an oxygen-mask as well." "Good job, Charge. Here Dutchy." He puts the mask on. We drive away. Away from the island, away from the place where the night mare happened. I turn around, the sun has just gone up. And then I see it. The big navy ship, the Hammersley. Finally, we're save.

"Okay, Melody, this can be painful and hurtful for Dutchy, so watch out." We board the Hammersley, always uncomforting, especially when you're injured. "Copy that, Swain." We both try to keep him stable, but I can see he's in a lot of pain. "It's gonna be all right, Dylan," I whisper. I see some more people waiting, I don't know them all by name. Ah, there's the CO, Mike Flynn. He visited ET in the hospital once.  
They all help with taking care of Dylan. Carefully, they take him to the Medic Room. I walk with them, when someone puts a hand on my shoulder. It's someone I don't know. "Melody is it, right?" "Yes Ma'am", I respond. "My name is Kate, I'm the X. I think you would like a shower and some clean clothes? And perhaps some food, ey?" "Well, thank you ma'am, but Dylan…" "Swain will take care of him. We'll sail back to port immediately at full speed. Don't worry about that. After you've had some food I can bring you to him."  
"All right then." Kate smiles, and she walks with me. She brings me some clean clothes.  
It's a navy suit. Well, that's familiar. After my shower she takes me to the senior's mess.

I sit down, she brings me some food. "So, what's your full name?" "Oh, my name is Melody Holiday."  
"Can I ask you a question?" she asks me. "Sure, ma'am." "How did you ended up at the island? For my interest, no-one lives there." "Ha, well, that's right, I don't live there. I crashed with my canoe, it went down and I made it to the island. How ironic, for me it was my lifesaver." Kate nods, she understands. "Well, it's good that we cleared that out, right?" A knock on the door. It's someone I don't know. "Hey Ryan", says Kate. Apparently he's called Ryan. "What's wrong?" "Swain told me to get you. Dutchy is awake."

_A/n: I found it difficult to describe what happened, I hope you guys all understand it in the big picture. So, do you want another chap? Please review :)_


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 – I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU

I stand up. "Can we go to him?" Ryan smiles. "Well, we gave him some painkillers but he still responds, luckily he's doing a lot better. X?" "I'll come with you", she answers. They take me to the room where Dylan's laying.  
There he is, laying on a bed, on a drip. He sees me, and he smiles. "Hey Curly." "Hey. How are you feeling?" I go sit on a chair. His face, he's in a lot of pain. He won't tell me. "Well, not that bad. And you?" I sigh. "I'm okay. All showered. I'm glad we're all…" I turn my head to Swain. "How're 2Dads and Bird?" "They're fine. They're in the junior's mess, 2Dads's wound is gonna be all right and Bird only has some scratches", says Swain. That's only physical. I think this whole island stuff is going to chase us longer than we expect. But I need to stay positive, so I say, "Oh, that's good. So we're all doing fine."  
Dylan nods. He closes his eyes. The X speaks up. "We called the Feds, they're going to investigate the whole area. The 2 men who did this to you… You'll never see them again. But Dutchy, we need a report. From you to, Melody. I know perhaps it's strange to you, and I know you'd rather forget everything what has happened, but we need it, so we can put them away in prison." I understand, and I'm sure Dylan will too. "I'll tell Bird and 2Dads as well. We'll be back in port in 2 hours. Swain, can I have a word with you?" Saying that, the X leaves together with Swain. The door closes. Only silence has left.  
I see Dylan thinking. "Dylan?" He opens his eyes. "I was just wandering… We weren't the first." "What do you mean? The first at the island? Or…" "Their first victims", he finishes my line. I sigh. "Dylan, when you were out, and we got you back, I got real angry at those guys. I shouted at them. And one guy answered that you…" I find it hard to say this out loud. Dylan notices. "It's okay, just say it." "You were going to be his third victim." Dylan nods. "I knew it", he whispers. I'd better not tell him about the two dead bodies I saw.  
Swain comes in. I look up. "Oh, shall I leave you alone for a minute?" I look back at Dylan. "Swain, there's something the X needs to know. It's important to the Feds", I say. "All right, shall I call her or do I need to tell her?" I stand up. I'm doubting, is it okay to leave him all alone here, in his own minds?  
It's like Dylan can read my it of my face. "It's okay", he says. "I only sleep anyway." "I'll be back in a minute." With that, we leave the wardroom.

XXXX-Sea Patrol-XXXX

Swain takes me to the bridge, where the X is. "X, there's something important Melody needs to tell." Swain nods, it's a sign that says go ahead. I take a deep breath. "There are two other bodies at the island. I don't know where, I don't know how they were killed, but I'm sure the 2 sicko's did it." The X looks at me with an open mouth. "Well, that's good to know. The feds are gonna need this information. Thank you." I nod. X turns around, and speaks to the CO. "Sir, I need NAVCOM to inform the Federal Police. We have some information that they need to know." "Go ahead X", the CO answers. The X turns around. "Can you come with me? Swain, you can go back to your duties." "Yes ma'am." Swain leaves, and X takes me to a cabin where RO's assistant is working. "I need NAVCOM on the line. Now", the X says. "Sure Ma'am. One minute." He presses some buttons. "NAVCOM on the line for you, ma'am." He hands over a phone. "White? Yes, we have some information the Federal Police needs to know. … Yes it is important. … Melody Holiday gave me the information ma'am, if you want her on the line she's right here. … Yes ma'am." She hands over the phone to me. She nods. "Commander White?" I ask. "Hello Melody. You have some new information for me?" "Yes, at the island, I lost it, so I yelled at the two sicko's. They answered that Dylan Mulholland was going to be their third victory. And, in my case, I saw them. There are two other bodies at the island. . My guess would be that they're murdered." No reaction. "Commander White?" "Yes, yes. I'll report it immediately to the Federal Police. Thank you very much. Oh, one thing…" "Yes?" "After you get checked out at the hospital, I need a report. The X told you?" "Yes, she did." "All right. I'd like it if you drop it off by yourself. I need to talk about your time off… You know your short leaf is almost over?" "Yes ma'am, I'm aware of that, and I'm thinking to rejoin soon." Wow. I just said it. No more sailing for me anymore. Back to duty. "That's good to hear. We'll talk about the details later. See you than." I hand over the phone to RO's assistant. I look at the X. She's smiling. "So you're navy?" "It's a long story. Maybe later?" "Sure. You know the way to the wardroom, I guess?" I smile. "Yes, I know. Thank you Kate."

I open the door, I don't see Swain anywhere. Dylan's asleep. I sit the down on the chair. Wow.  
What a day. Two days, actually. Yesterday, first the crash. Then I see Dylan, well, I discover it later but still. Then I meet RO and 2Dads. Later I get confronted how bad Dylan is doing. The gunshot, how 2Dads gets his injury. And how the guys tortured him. How we saved them.  
And the night. The long and dark night, with as only light the campfire. The night I almost lost Dylan. And the morning almost another time. If Swain came later… I don't want to think of that. Everything turned out right, for so far.  
The judgment hasn't came yet.

XXXX-Sea Patrol-XXX

"Attention to all sailors. We'll dock in ten minutes. Swain and Charge will lead 2Dads, Bird, Melody and Dutchy to the ambulance to get them to hospital. We'll stay in touch. That's all", I hear the CO's voice through intercom.  
I'm helping Swain with getting Dylan ready for transport. He's still asleep. Charge is with 2Dads and Bird.  
I look at Swain. We're done. We're ready to transport him. "I assume you'll ride with him to the hospital?" I nod. "Melody, we'll be in touch, all right? You can talk to me any time if you want to." "Oh, thank you Swain. I appreciate that." He nods, and sits down on another chair standing in the corner. A knock on the door. It's the CO. "Melody?" I stand up. "Yes sir?"  
"You'll ride with Dutchy to the hospital. Swain will keep me up-to-date. I got a message from NAVCOM. You know they are expecting you?" I nod. "As soon as I know Dylan is fine, I'll head off to NAVCOM. But I don't have money. Or a car." The CO smiles. "Swain can help you. Swain?" Swain looks up. "Yes boss?" "You take care of Melody?" Swain smiles. "Sure boss." "Melody, good luck with everything." We shake hands. "Thank you very much, sir."

We arrive at the hospital. I'm in the front of the car. They take me to a special wait-room. Waiting takes a long time. Especially when you know someone's waiting for you. Ah, there's a doctor. "Mrs. Holiday?" I stand up. "That's me." "You're family of Dylan Mulholland?" "Well, not really, but I'm the only one he's got right now. His family is on its way."  
The doctor is thinking. Shall he tell me or not? "Well all right then", he finally makes his decision. "You can come this way." I look around. "I'll wait here", says Swain. "Thank you", I whisper. The doctor takes me to Dylan, and in the mean time he explains to me how he's doing. "He's been through a lot, and scars will remain. Not only physical", he warns me. I know. He continues. "We removed the bullet, he has some stitches for that wound at his chest. I don't think any infections will appear, but you never know. The wound at his leg… That was a dirty wound. I think it might get infected, and we need to see how his leg repairs. I don't know if it caused much damage to the muscles. But for the rest… I think he'll get over it. He has some bruises, three cracked ribs and a huge headache. And the pain, well, we gave him something for that, but it's still heavy. He's a strong men." Wow, that's a relief. I'm sure Dylan can beat this all. "And inside? No real damage?" I was really afraid of that. I mean, ribs you can feel that, but internal bleedings… That's way out of my area. "You know the one rib that punctured his long? We put bandage on it, he's on the oxygen but it needs time to heal. For the rest, no internal bleeding. He's been very lucky, well, as far as you can say that." Only more relief. "He's a strong and stubborn man, doctor. I'm sure he will recover properly." I smile. "I have faith, I must say. Well, this is his room. I can't let you in too long, he needs his rest." "I understand doctor. I won't be in that long anyway." The doctor nods and walks away.  
I enter the room. I see him, laying on a white bed. Such a contrast with his brown skin, although he looks pale. An IV-line is running from his finger to a huge machine. The machine is beeping. I don't like the sound of it. All those machines and all those lines. I don't like hospitals at all. I sit down at a chair. I look at his face. He's still asleep.  
Then he starts blinking. "No, you don't have to wake up", I whisper. It's like he heard me. He stops blinking, and starts sleeping. I hope he won't get any nightmares. "I will be here for you. Just like you were there for me." I put his hand on his chest. I see it easily coming up and down. I stand up and leave. I'm about to leave the room, when I hear a familiar voice. It's Dylan's mother. "Ah, Melody!" I hug her. "Hi. He's inside." "How're you doing?" "I'm doing fine. Really. But I got to get back to NAVCOM. I'm rejoining." Dylan's mum smiles. "Dylan will be pleased to hear that." "He already knows. But I really need to go now. All love to the family!" We say goodbye and I leave.

_a/N: So another chapter will follow. Please review, I updated all the chapters and the story makes much more sense now ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 - THE PLACE I CALL HOME

"Melody! Come, you're just at the right time. Bird just came to me, 2Dads wants to see you", Swain calls me. "All right, well, let's hurry then." We walk up the stairs, and enter the room 2Dads's laying. "Hey Curly. Bird and I, we wanted to say thanks to you. And to Swain." 2Dads looks better than Dylan. No beeping machines, no lines. I smile. "It's okay. I'm glad I could help. I think you'll recover fast." 2Dads nods. "Yes, they only let me stay for one or two nights", he says, he's very relieved. I look at Swain. He nods. "We better go. Otherwise Knocker will be really pissed off." I smile and we leave.

"Thank you for the ride, Swain. And the money for a cab. And everything." He nods. "It's okay Melody. You can call me anytime." I close the door and Swain drives away. I walk up the stairs to NAVCOM. I'm nervous. I love being out at the sea, and I really missed it. I enter Knocker's room. "Hey Melody. Come in. Sit down." I sit down and try to imagine how I look at the moment. Wearing navy-pants, a grey shirt, my hair still a little wet and wearing old sneakers. Knocker looks at me. "I went here straight ahead, I didn't stop to change", I explain. She nods. "So, to the point. Your shore leaf ends in three months, but since this happened I wanted to talk about it. Hammersley will be out until at least 2Dads and Bird are back for duty. I can replace Dutchy, but there's another spot free at the ship." Another spot free? Why is she telling me this? It's like she can read my mind, because she immediately tells me. "Melody, the reason why I am telling you this is because I think you're the one that can fill the spot. Bird needs education, not only from Swain, but also from you. With your experiences she can become a very good navy-medical." Wow, glad to hear that. "The Hammersley will sail out in two or three weeks. We can call you up anytime. And I will make sure you'll get your uniform in time." I'm really happy right now. "Will you take the job or do you want to continue your shore leaf?" she asks me. "What? No, ma'am, I'd love to be out at sea again." She smiles and she nods. "Well, sailor, that's all set than. I'll see you in two weeks. Dismissed."

I take a cab to my house, here in Cairns. I haven't sold it, I always kept it because Dylan insisted to keep it. -Where would I be without him?- I pay the taxi-driver and walk up the road to my house. The key is under a rock, near the front door. I lift up the rock and, of course, it's still there. I open the door and get in the house. Nothing has changed, it's even clean. My mum kept it clean, I said to her it's okay not to, but she wanted to do it herself. I walk to my closet, let's change first.  
After I changed, I walk around my house. Everything is just the way I left it. All the pictures, photo's and drawings, they're all still here. But my car… where is it? Ah, I remember again. I left it at my parents' place. I walk to my phone and dial my parents' number. "Hey Dad, it's me. Yeah, I'm home again. Look, I have no car right now so can you pick me up? I'll explain everything to you than, all right? Thanks dad. Love you." I hang up the phone.

My dad arrives, I get in the car. "Ey, love." "Hey dad. How's mum?" "She's doing fine, just doing fine", he mumbles. "All right, well, that's good news." He nods. "So, Mel, how … ?" I tell him everything. From the part my canoe crashed until the hospital, only an hour ago. We drive in our street when I get to the final part. "… And Swain dropped me off. I need to go back to the hospital, I'll type my report over there." My dad will probably understand. I love my dad. "All right, I will tell your mum. Just get your laptop, your keys and your mobile phone and drive back to the hospital. Oh and give Dylan a hug from us, all right?" "I will dad." We arrived at home. I give my dad a kiss, and walk into the house. "Hi, mum." I kiss her as well. "Hey, Mel. Oh, I missed you so much." "I missed you too, mum. But I really need to hurry now. Dylan's in hospital. But Dad will explain it. Love ya." I quickly run upstairs to get everything. After that I run to the garage to get my car. What a circus.

XXX-Sea Patrol-XXX

I asked the nurses if the 'special' room is still there. It is and I still know the way. I sit down and get my laptop to type my report. I learned from before that just sitting next to the bed isn't gonna work. You need to deal with it and keep on going. At the end, everything is going to work out fine anyway. Most of the time.

Swain enters the room. "Hey, the nurse said I could find you here. So, here you are." I look up. "Yes, I'm here." I smile. "What's up?" "I'm leaving, Bird is staying with 2Dads and I think you'll keep an eye on Dutchy. I'll come back tomorrow, perhaps in the afternoon? I'll see. Anyway, you can expect me." I nod. Swain wants to leave. "Oh, Swain, wait, I almost forget to tell you." He looks around. Can I tell him? Oh, why not. "I'm rejoining, I'll probably sail with the Hammersley." Swain is stunned. "Oh, that's great! That means we can finally work together!" Swain smiles. "Well, I better hurry now. I told Sally I would hurry." "Oh, well you'd better go than. See you tomorrow." Swain leaves and I finish my report. I've just sent it to NAVCOM, when a nurse walks in the room. "Mrs. Holiday?" I look up. "Mr. Mulholland is awake."

While walking to him, I think of this whole situation. Together we got Josh back, when he needed to deal with his leg. Now I will get Dylan back, in the name of Josh. In the end, everything is gonna turn out just fine. When destiny calls you, you must be strong. We may not be together, but we have to hold on. Even when people won't believe it, I'll get him back. Back on track. Back to the navy, that's our plan. We're gonna do it together. Like we always did. Because he, he'll always be in my heart. He only needs to look over his shoulder and I will be there.

_A/N: The story is complete! I hope you guys all liked it, thanks for reading it. In some time you can expect another story of me, I'll keep you up to date! :)_

_-the thing with josh his leg is based on ep-Birds from season 2 ;)_

_up-to-date: i am working on a second story with dutchy&curly. i am thinking about posting it when i am ready to :)  
till then, keep calm and love fanfiction! please review, thank you guys :)_


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